Lander



H. W.. RHINELANDEH.

SAFETY APRUN FOR LOCOMOTIVES. APPucATloN FILED ocr. `2. |918'.

9306,438, Patented-June 1o, 1919.

PLF?. /f

J- al il HARRY W. RHINELANDER, 0F FREEDOM, PENNSYLVANIA..

SAFETY-APRON Fon. LocoMo'rI'vEs.

Application `filed October 2,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARRY W. RHINE- LANDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Freedom, in the county of Beaver and tate of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful `.Improvements in ,Safety-Aprons for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates'to attachments for locomotives and morer` particularly to a safety apronv device constructed in a manner to eliminate jbolts and Vhinge pins such as are commonly employed to' pivotally mount the ordinary locomotive apron in position.

One of the primaryv objects of this invention is to provide an improved safety apron adapted to extend from the locomotive to the tender and gap the space therebetween, and be mounted'so that it may be swung upwardly to inoperative positionin a manner similar to the hingedly mountedapron, but which will be devoid of any hinged connection; and which may be readily dismantled when the apron is to be removed.

A further object of this invention is the` provision of a device of this character which consists of comparatively few parts and is simple in construction but durable and well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which devices of this character are ordinarily subjected. l

For a full description of the invention and the advantages and merits thereof, reference4 is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in whichz Figure 1 isa view in side elevation showing the invention in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a detail section through the devicel constructed in accordancel with my invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the elements used to support the apron.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a complementary element.

Referring to the drawings, wherein is illustrated the preferred form of my invention, in which' like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the locomotive indicated at A is coupled to the tender Bv in the usual .,manner. The gap between the locomotive and tender is lof considerable width and is ordinarily bridged by the apron 1 which usually consists of a metallic plate having hinged connection to the locomotiveand adapted to rest upon the bolster C. It 'has Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 10, 1919i.

1918. seria1N0.25s,v57o.

been found, however, that the bolts and pintles and hinge pins generally employed to hingedly connect the apron 1 to the locomotive, become worn in time and by virtue of the strain upon them, will break and drop out of kposition whereupon the apron will drop upon'the trackway between the locomotive and pintle and ofttimesbethe cause of derailing the tender thereby resulting in serious accident. Pivotal :connection of the apron 1 withfthe locomotive, therefore is entirely avoided by the present structure, which, asshown to advantage in Fig. 2 of the drawing'gincludes a fastening plate 2 which is bolted,l riveted or otherwise suitably fastened to' the .locomotiver/. Thisiplate has extending therefrom an arcuate sleeve 4 which projects through an arc equal'to a quarter circle. The interior of the sleeve 4 is hollow and may be eitherround or square, the present illustration showing the same as square. The apron` 1 has attached'thereto the complementary connecting member 5 shown in detail in Fig.v 4 of the drawing and which includes the fastening plate 6 the two telescopically connected members 7 and 4 will maintain the apron in position until the latter is opened to its full position Vwhereupon it may be removed and demounted. To place the apron back into position 1t is merely necessary to place the member 7 within the open end of the sleeve 4 and permit the apron to drop into the position shown so that one edge will be supported by the bumper C while the other end is supported by the telescopically connected members as Shown in Fig. 2.

Thus it will be seen that no bolts, rivets, hinge pins, or pintles are employed in establishing the hinged connection yet the apron is adapted to swing in the same manner asis the case when the hinge is used. Furthermore the apron may be readily removed at all times without resorting to the necessity v be considered to be the preferred or approved form of my invention. I desire it to be understood that I may make such changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, materials, dimensions et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope ot' the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A device of the class described, the combination of a locomotive and tender, and an apron adapted to bridge the space between the locomotive and tender and a supporting member attached to the locomotive and including an arcuate sleeve, and a complementary member fixed to the apron and having an arcuate arm ada ted to be telescopieally received in the sai sleeve to permit relative swinging movement of the apron with respect to the said locomotive, and to su port one vend of the apron when the latter 1s in operative position.

2. A locomotive apron comprising'v an apron plate having an arcuate arm fixed thereto and depending from the bottom of the same, and a complementary sup orting element comprising a fastening platerhavin an'arcuate sleeve adapted to receive the said arm to permit relative sliding movement of the arm Within the sleeve whereby the said apron may be swung through an arc.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY W. RHINELANDER.

Witnesses:

J. S. BARNES, ABRAM BUSY. 

